Detection of Drugs Using XAD-2 Resin. III: A Routine Screening Procedure for Bile

A number of biological specimens may be routinely examined in medical examiner's cases. A useful specimen for toxicologic analysis is one that by its physiological nature concentrates drugs in easily detectable amounts, is readily available in sufficient quantity, does not require extensive preparation, and is applicable to simple screening techniques. Urine has been particularly amenable to XAD-2 resin screening [1–11]. However, in postmortem cases urine is often unavailable and bile becomes the sample of choice. Simple hydrolysis alters the consistency of bile so that it can be readily extracted by the XAD-2 resin methods [12,13]. In addition, the disposition and biotransformation of many drugs causes significant quantities of parent drugs and metabolites to be found in bile, often in concentrations higher than those in other biological specimens.